In mobile communication networks, there is always a challenge to fit together good performance and capacity for a given communications protocol, its parameters and the physical environment in which the communication network is deployed and the willingness to pay for the connectivity provided by the mobile communication network.
Most operators offer Internet connectivity and mobile broadband subscriptions to subscribers at different price levels. Typically the subscriptions are associated with different maximum bit rates (also referred as peak rates). For instance, a first subscription may offer a first maximum bit rate, say 2 Mbps, and have a lower price compared to a second subscription offering a higher maximum bit rate, such as 20 Mbps. Further, operators may apply so called fair usage policies, meaning that the maximum bit rate may be reduced to a lower value, for instance 64 kbps, once a certain volume of data has (over a certain period of time) been consumed by the subscriber.
For mobile broadband subscriptions based on Evolved Packet Core/Long Term Evolution (EPC/LTE) technology, a bandwidth limitation for a user equipment (UE), such as a radio terminal, smart phone, laptop computer, etc., is typically enforced through the Access Point Name-Aggregated Maximum Bit Rate (APN-AMBR) value for a specific APN. This limitation applies to the aggregate of all non-Guaranteed Bit Rate (nonGBR) traffic to/from the subscriber's UE for the specific APN.
Another approach is, for example for the operators, to apply a bandwidth limitation based on Internet Protocol (IP) flows rather than enforcing it at bearer level. This implies that each of the IP flows is throttled to the maximum bit rate specified by the subscription; at the same time the aggregate of the bit rate of all individual IP flows should be kept within the maximum bit rate of the subscription to retain the subscription properties, something that is commonly not achieved.
Sponsored connectivity may be offered on networks, such as the Internet. In general terms, sponsored connectivity or service involves offering to connectivity to specific content charged separately and possibly with a different quality of service (QoS) from the existing subscription being associated with a UE or similar. An example may be the possibility for a subscriber of a UE to watch a video on the UE, streamed or downloaded at a bit rate that is higher than the bit rate offered by the operator according to the existing subscription associated with the UE.
However, in EPC/LTE networks the bandwidth limitation is enforced through the APN-AMBR value, which applies to the aggregate of all nonGBR traffic to/from the UE. FIG. 9 schematically illustrates current enforcement of bearers in the evolved packet system (EPS). LTE is the access part of the EPS.
As a first example, consider a subscriber having a Mobile Broadband (MBB) subscription allowing a peak rate of 2 Mbps, enforced by the APN-AMBR value being applied to the aggregate of all nonGBR traffic to/from the subscriber's UE for a specific APN. Assume that a sponsored service is prepared for delivering a large file with a peak rate of 20 Mbps. If the APN-AMBR for this subscriber is changed to 20 Mbps the subscriber will be able to use the enhanced peak rate of 20 Mbps for accessing any content running on any nonGBR bearer, not only the sponsored service content. Such effects may be denoted as “free ride effects”.
As a second example, assume that a subscriber has consumed the quota of data allowed to his/her MBB subscription, with the effect that a fair usage policy with a bandwidth limitation of 64 kbps now applies to his/her subscription, enforced by the APN-AMBR value being applied to the aggregate of all nonGBR traffic to/from the subscriber's UE for a specific APN. If this subscriber would attempt the purchase of the delivery of a video at 2 Mbps, the currently existing possibility to deliver this content would be to modify the APN-AMBR value to 2 Mbps during the delivery of the video. Consequently, if the video is paused, and the subscriber would access other Internet services, his/her internet subscription will not any longer be limited by the fair usage policy.
Hence, there is a need for an improved handling of bandwidth limitation of a Mobile Broadband connectivity service to a user equipment.